By Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Scott Malone
BOSTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama hailed Senator Edward Kennedy as the "greatest legislator of our time" at the funeral on Saturday of the towering patriarch of the pre-eminent American political dynasty.
"Ted Kennedy's life's work was not to champion those with wealth or power or special connections. It was to give a voice to those who were not heard," Obama said in a eulogy at a Catholic church packed with members of the political elite.
Obama, who lost the biggest ally of his push to overhaul U.S. healthcare, remembered the legislative achievements of the "soul of the Democratic Party" who contributed to major U.S. social reforms over the 47 years he served in the U.S. Senate.
The president cited Kennedy's work on civil rights, disabilities laws, children's health and immigration reform, but made scant reference to healthcare reform efforts.
Since Kennedy died on Tuesday of brain cancer at age 77, Americans have held a series of memorials for the last of the Kennedy brothers, showing the fascination many have for a family that is the closest thing to U.S. royalty.
Former presidents, senators and representatives of both political parties joined the large Irish-American Kennedy clan for the funeral Mass at Boston's Our Lady of Perpetual Help Basilica, after which Kennedy's body was to be flown to Washington for burial alongside his slain brothers.
Police said 50,000 people came to a two-day public viewing of his casket at the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum.
"Where would I be as a black man without the Kennedys?" said Clint Haymon, one of hundreds of mourners gathered outside the church in pouring rain. "They believe in civil rights and that's why I am here to honour this great man."
LION OF THE SENATE
Dozens of lawmakers from the last several decades -- many of whom had been Kennedy's fiercest foes on legislation -- attended the traditional Catholic funeral Mass in the 130-year-old stone church.
Mourners from Hollywood star Jack Nicholson to Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer crowded the church where cellist Yo-Yo Ma played and tenor Placido Domingo sang. Readings came from several generations of Kennedys.
Obama and former presidents Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton sat at the front with their wives.
The president called Kennedy "the lion of the U.S. Senate" who had authored more than three hundred laws.
"He was a product of an age when the joy and nobility of politics prevented differences of party and philosophy from becoming barriers to cooperation and mutual respect, a time when adversaries still saw each other as patriots," Obama said.
"And that's how Ted Kennedy became the greatest legislator of our time."
After his eulogy, Obama hugged Kennedy's tearful widow, Victoria, with one of his hands on the casket.
Kennedy became a champion of liberal Democrats and was both respected and reviled by conservative Republicans, many of whom never forgave him for the Chappaquiddick car accident in 1969 when he drove off a bridge, escaping while a female companion died. He did not call police for nine hours, and the incident may have ended any chance he had of becoming president.
OBAMA ALLY ON HEALTHCARE
Obama recalled the many tragedies the senator lived through, including the assassinations of his older brothers, President John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Senator Robert Kennedy in 1968, which overshadowed his early career.
"It is a string of events that would have broken a lesser man. And it would have been easy for Teddy ... to retreat from public life and live out his years in peaceful quiet. But that was not Ted Kennedy," Obama said.
Kennedy championed the end of apartheid in South Africa, peace in Northern Ireland and opposition to the war in Iraq.
With Kennedy's death, Obama lost a crucial ally in his struggle to overhaul the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system in which nearly 46 million people go uninsured. Kennedy, a consummate dealmaker, could have helped Obama through what has become a contentious debate across the country.
At the Mass, Kennedy's grandson Max Allen, touched on the political issue of the day, saying that ensuring every American access to healthcare was "what my grandpa called the cause of his life."
(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Ross Colvin; Writing by Daniel Trotta; Editing Anthony Boadle)
